Miller, Nelson Headline 2012 Basketball Hall of Fame Class

Reggie Miller speaks with a reporter during an NBA Hall of Fame news conference as part of 2012 All-Star Weekend in Orlando, Florida. on Feb. 24, 2012. Photographer: Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE via Getty Images

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Reggie Miller, who made his
reputation as a big-game player, and Don Nelson, who won more
games than any other National Basketball Association coach, were
among the class of 2012 announced today for the Basketball Hall
of Fame.

This year’s class, unveiled before the National Collegiate
Athletics Association men’s tournament final in New Orleans,
also includes former players Ralph Sampson, Jamaal Wilkes and
Katrina McClain, official Hank Nichols and the All American Red
Heads, a touring women’s team that billed itself as the female
version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Those chosen for induction had to receive at least 18 votes
from a 24-member committee. Nelson, 71, said that he was sitting
on his back porch smoking a cigar when he received the call
saying he was elected.

“I’m one of the rare guys that throughout his life has
been able to do what he loves to do,” Nelson said today in a
televised interview. “Now to be elected into the Hall of Fame
is like the cherry on top of the icing.”

Miller, 46, played his entire 17-year NBA career with the
Indiana Pacers, retiring in 2005 as their all-time leader in
points (25,279) and steals (1,505). The five-time All-Star and
1996 Olympic gold medalist made an NBA-record 320 3-point shots
in the playoffs and shot 88 percent from the free-throw line.

Brother-Sister Act

Miller joins his sister Cheryl, who was inducted into the
Hall of Fame in 1995. He called the election a “humbling
experience.”

“To be a part of this exclusive club is really special,”
Miller said. “I get a chance to join Cheryl as the first
brother-and-sister act in the Hall of Fame. She is a role model,
and she set the bar high for the Miller family.”

Nelson was a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and won a
league-record 1,335 games. He spent over 40 years as a player,
coach and general manager, winning five NBA titles as a forward
with the Boston Celtics and making the playoffs 18 times as
coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York
Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” Nelson said. “I’ve
been involved in the game of basketball for over 60 years, and
I’ve never had a bad day.”

The Red Heads, the first professional women’s basketball
team, often played 200 games a season from 1936 to 1986,
travelling to 49 states, Canada and the Philippines, breaking
social barriers and gender-based stereotypes in basketball.

College Stars

The 58-year-old Wilkes won two NCAA championships at UCLA
prior to a 12-year NBA career that included four league titles
and the Rookie of the Year Award in 1975. Sampson, 51, won the
same honor in 1984, the year after winning his record third
Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year award.

McClain, 46, won Olympic gold medals on U.S. teams in 1988
and 1992. Nichols worked six NCAA title games and 13 Atlantic
Coast Conference championships as a referee before becoming the
national coordinator of officials for the NCAA.

The inductees were among 12 finalists announced last month.
Those who missed election included ex-players Maurice Cheeks and
Bernard King, and coaches Rick Pitino, Bill Fitch and Dick
Motta.

The Hall of Fame, in Springfield, Massachusetts, was
established in 1959 and has 313 inductees, including former
players, coaches, referees, teams and other contributors to the
game. Players become eligible five years after retirement;
coaches and referees must be retired for five years or have
worked fulltime for at least 25 years.